Article or luggage carrier



March 26, 1946. c. E. REEVES ARTICLE OR LUGGAGE CARRIER Filed Feb. 25, 1944 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 26, 1946 U 1 TE D STATE-S PAT-EN T O FFICE ARTICLE on LUGGAGE CAR-man Cuthbert E; Reeves, Buffalo, 'N. Y. Application February 25, 1944, Serial .No. 523,815

2 Claims. (Cl. 2.24'49) This invention relates to improvements in carriers for firewood, luggage or other articles, and

the floor or ground, and to have its opposite endsv brought or closed together over pieces of Wood or other articles laid on the strip, so as to retain such articles in place and facilitate carrying them, as by handle means provided at the closed ends of said body or strip.

In such carriers as ordinaril constructed, separate handles or hand grips are provided at the opposite ends of the carrier strip and the ends of the carrier are retained closed about its contents and the device carried by grasping the two handles in the hand, no means being provided for retaining the ends of the carrier body or strip together when the device is set down or the handles released, so that the ends of the carrier body or strip will fall apart or open out when the handles are released or the device is set down, and all-ow the pieces or articles in the carrier to spread or shift about in the carrier or escape therefrom.

One object of my invention is to provide a desirable and practical wood or luggage carrier of improved, novel construction that overcomes such objections.

Other objects of the invention are to provide the carrier strip or body with means at its opposite ends which, when the ends are closed together over the contents, cooperate to provide a convenient carrying handle for the device, and also act to retain the ends closed to ether and prevent them from opening out when the carrier:

is set down; also to provide the carrier strip with bails or members at its opposite ends which, when the ends are brought together, interengage with each other so as to form a carrying handle for the device and to hold its ends together when the device is released or set down; and also to provide a carrier in which end cross bars are provided at the opposite ends of the carrier strip to which balls or members are attached of a construction adapting one member to be passed through the other member to form a single carrying handle for the device, and at the same time interlock or retain said end bars together one below the other so as to prevent the ends of the carrier body from separating or opening out when the handle is released.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following specification of preferred embodiments of the invention, shown in the accompanying drawing, and the novel features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article carrier embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation thereof illustrating the manner of closing-the ends of the carrier.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the parts when the carrier is closed.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, enlarged, on line 44, Fig. 3.

Fig. -5 is a View similar to Fig. 3, showing a slightly modified form of the device.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective View of the handle member of the device of the form shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is'an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating the action of the lugs on the handle for prying open the carrier.

The carrier comprises a body H], which may consist of a strip or piece of suitable flexible material, such for instance as canvas, the opposite end portions of which body are adapted to be closed together over pieces of wood or other articles placed on the body'or piece between said end portions." Suitably attached to the opposite ends of this body or strip and extending transversely thereof along its end edges are stiff or rigid end cross bars I l and I2. These bars may be secured to the ends of the body in any suitable manner. For instance, as shown, each end of the body is secured between one end bar II, or H, and a fastening strip l3 secured to the end bar, as by screws or other fastenings It passed through the fastening strip and the end of the body piece and screwed or secured in the end bar. While the strip 13 has been designated a fastening strip, it is, in effect, one part of a two part end bar.

A handle member [5 is attached to one end bar, as [2, at its middle portion, and a cooperating holding member H; is attached to the other curl bar H at its middle portion, or opposite the handle member, and in its preferred form is in the nature of a bail of such size that the handle member can be passed throughit and extend upwardly from its end bar so as to serve as a handle or hand grip for carryin the device. As shown, each of these members [5 and I6 is of bail or substantially inverted U-shape and may be attachedto its end bar, for example, as shown in Figs. 1-3, by passing the legs of the bailthrough holes in the associated end bar and fastening strip and upsetting or bending over the ends of e gether.

27 w the legs to anchor them in place, or other suitable means for attachingthese members could be employed. The handle, which may consist of a bent wire or rod of suitable stifiness, may be equipped on its cross rod or portion with a cylinder or tube I! of wood or other suitable material adapted to provide a comfortable hand grip on the handle bail. r

The holdingmember or bail [6 extends upso'that the offset portion will pass around the legs or attaching portions of the handle member and'can bear against the top of the end bar l2-'-l3.

handle member, as when lifting or carrying the device, the holding member 16 will be thus held 1 in,connection;with the attaching portions of the handle member and the weight of the carrier and its contents will cause the offset portion of member Hi to bear downwardly on the end bar 12 and thus act to throw the end bar II on the other end of the body inwardly under the end 2,397,433 is; H H r.

ends of the handle bail maybe provided with I lugs or extensions adapted by swinging the handle bail downwardly or inwardly, to engage under the cross bar of holding bail l6 and thus pry it over the eyes of the attaching members 58 and thus serve as a convenient meansfor disengaging the holding bail from the eyes or holding parts on the cross bar l2 to permit the read opening of the ends of the carrier. It'should be apparent from the foregoing specification, that the ends of the carrier body, or parts thereof that are moved toward and from each other for closing and opening the mouth When upward pull is exerted on the or entrance opening of the carrier, are locked or retained together and prevented from unintentional opening by the simple expedient of moving the handle member on one end of the body into carrying position through or into holding engagement with the cooperating holding member on the opposite end of the body. No separate or additional locking or holding means,

requiring separate operation, are necessary for bar [2 to which the carrying handle is attached,

as shown in Fig. 3. In this way the end bars will be interlocked or held in engagement one beneath the other, so that if the carrier is set down, while the connected ends of the carrier body may collapse or fall down against the contents of the carrier, nevertheless the end bars will be held of the ends of the body, thereby preventing possible opening up of the carrier and disarrangement or escape of its contents.

As shown in Figs. 1-3, the lower ends of the legs of the handle bail l5 are rigidly attached to the endbar and the handle bail is thus held rigid with the end bar, projecting upwardly therefrom when the end bars are held together, as explained, for carrying the carrier. It is not,

j however, essential that the handle bail shall be rigid with or'immovable relatively to the end bar,

but the handle bail or member 15 can be hinged or movably connected with its end bar l2. For example, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6,the handle bail [5 can be provided-at the lower ends of its :legs with attaching portions or members [8 fastened to theend barand hinged in eyes l9 on together and prevent the separation or opening the-legs ofthe handle bail. With this construction, as in the construotion'shown in Figs. 1-3,

through the holding bail v r member IS, on the opposite end bar, the offset outer portion ofthe holding member Hi can engage over the'eyes of the attaching members I8, so that thereby the member I 6 will be held in connection with the I6 is attached, to

interlock or hold the ,end bars together-and prevent the separation or opening out of the ends f of the carrier body. In this constructiom'when the handle member is passed through the cooperating holding member l6 and pulled upwardly, it'will act as a lever to pull the cross bar of the member 16 over the eyes of thehandle-attaching members Hi to lock'or hold the end bars towhen the handle bail or member is passed 1 As shown Figs. 5, 6 and '7, the lower or hingethis purpose. Thus the carrier is locked or held closed by means of exceedingly simple and inexpensive construction. Manifestly, the invention is not limited to means for such purpose of the particular constructions shown in the drawing, but embraces other equivalent means as compree hended in the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An article carrier comprising a flexible body piece, parallel transverse end bars secured along opposite end edges of said body piece, a holding bail attached to oneend bar andhaving a laterally offset cross-piece spaced outwardly from the end bar a distance somewhat greater than the thickness of the other end bar, and a carrying handle which is hinged at its inner end by attaching members to said second end bar and is movable through said holding bail to carrying position in engagement with said holding bail and by said engagement moves said bail into holding engagement with said handle attaching members, said handle having adjacent its second-end bar at one side of the first end bar and having a laterally oifset cross-piece spaced outwardly from the end bar a distance somewhat greater-than the thickness of said first end'ba-r, said handle being insertable through said bail'into carrying position in engagement with the cross-piece of said bail and by said engagement' holding said ball in connection with said handle, whereby-when the carrier is lifted by said handle so engaged, the leverage action of the handle on the holding bail due to the weightof the carieronthe handle will shift said first end her inwardly between said second end bar and the cross-piece of said holding bail and: said bars will be interlocked and held together.

CUTI-IBERT E. REEVES.

flexible body 

